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Things to do near Beijing

The Great Wall without a doubt is the first thing that comes to mind when anyone thinks of China, possibly second only to Panda bears (which we also got to see, more on that in a later post). It’s probably one of those sights that’s on just about everyone’s bucket list. The Great Wall is very impressive, no matter what small portion of it that you are fortunate enough to visit. On this Sinorama tour, we visited the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall, which was a heavily fortified portion to protect a key route through the mountains on the way to Beijing, 31 miles away.

Juyongguan section of the Great Wall. We climbed up the Wall seen in the hills behind me. It took us about 1.5 hours to climb to the highest point (not quite visible), moving at a fairly quick pace.

The steepness of the climb can be appreciated in this photo.

I cannot imagine the labor that went in to constructing the wall through the steep, rugged terrain and other natural barriers for thousands of miles. We found enough challenge in just climbing the section that we did, which was steep enough to be hard on the knee joints coming down.

Taking a short break on the only semi-level section of the Wall in this area.

North of Juyong Pass is Badaling, also considered part of the same pass, and a popular section of the Wall to visit. Years ago I visited the Mutianyu section, which is a bit further from Beijing.

Looking towards the Badaling section of the Great Wall (in the far distance) from Juyongguan section, high above the Juyong Pass.

When we think of a wall, usually we think of a pretty straight line with two sides, and the Great Wall, at least in this part of the country, is anything but straight, partially due to the span of multiple construction eras over the centuries and partly due to the rugged landscape.

Other parts of the Juyongguan section of the Wall can be seen across the valley.

Lots of stairs–if your job was to patrol this section, you’d be in great shape!

Wall Facts:

The origins of the Wall date back over a millennia ago, although most of the wall we see today was built during the Ming Dynasty, between the mid 1300’s and 1600’s. The Wall runs across norther China and is about 5,500 miles long, of which about 3,800 miles is actual stone wall construction, with the remaining sections being other types of barriers (ditches and natural landscape). Source: Wikipedia

If you visit the Great Wall, be prepared for a LOT of walking, steps, and tourists, at least in the sections of the Wall near Beijing.

Some of the crowds making their way up as we were coming down. Get there early in the day if possible!

Get your souvenirs here!

Of course, there are many tourist shops at each location with food, drinks and souvenirs.

A view of the little village and shops at the base of the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall.